FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7th, 2017
The Altamont Corridor Express To Receive $400 Million For Service Expansion to Stanislaus and Merced Counties
Stockton (CA) – Due to the hard work of California State Senator Anthony
Canella (R- Ceres), California State Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced), and
California State Senator Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton), the Altamont Corridor
Express (ACE) will be receiving $400 million for service expansion as a key
component of the Transportation Funding Measure (SB 1) which was approved by
the Legislature last night.
“The
state has continuously underinvested in the San Joaquin Valley and in rural
California. ACE service to Modesto, Ceres, Turlock, and Merced will bring great
economic benefit to our region – providing a safe, reliable, affordable, and
comfortable alternative to driving to the Bay Area. The I-580/I-680 Altamont
Corridor is certainly one of the most congested corridors in the State” said
Senator Cannella.
The
funds are necessary to make improvements to expand ACE service, including new
track, stations, and trains. ACE is expected to extend to Ceres by no later
than
2023.
The ACEforward environmental process
has cleared various near term projects and is in the process of clearing the
remaining sections of the project expansion.
“We
are excited to expand service into Stanislaus County and ease congestion on
Highway 99,” said San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission Executive Director
Stacey Mortensen.
ACE, started in 1998 and now
runs four daily round trips starting at the Cabral Station in Downtown
Stockton, through the Tri-Valley, and into Downtown San
Jose. ACE currently carries over 1.3 million riders a year, and
ridership has doubled since 2011. The Bay Area Council released the Northern
California Megaregion report in 2016, highlighting that over 65,000 drivers
cross the Altamont Pass on Interstate 580 every single day. The expanded ACE service will enable ridership to continue to grow to
better serve the region.
For more information on ACE, please visit www.acerail.com.